Boxes include a pair of ossuaries believed to contain the remains of two noblemen who lived in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

This 2,000-year-old Jewish burial box was one of 11 recovered by police during a raid on suspected antiquities dealers in Israel last week.

By:Jon GerbergThe Associated Press, Published on Mon Mar 31 2014

JERUSALEM— Israeli authorities on Monday unveiled 11 ancient burial boxes dating to around the time of Jesus.

The boxes, recovered by police during a midnight raid on suspected antiquities dealers, include a pair of ossuaries believed to contain the remains of two noblemen who lived in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

Some are engraved with designs and even names, giving clues to their origin and contents. The boxes contain bone fragments and remnants of what experts say is pottery buried with the deceased.

Israel’s Antiquities Authority said the boxes were recovered last Friday, shortly after midnight, when police observed two cars parked suspiciously at a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem. When they investigated, they found four people involved in an exchange of the boxes. Once police recovered the items, they alerted the authority.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the boxes were “stolen from a cave” near Jerusalem with the intent of being sold to collectors. He said authorities had been tracking the suspects for some time but would not elaborate.

According to Israeli antiquities law, all antiquities discovered by the public are considered property of the state.

Two of the suspects remained in custody on Monday, and the others were under house arrest, according to the authority.

The boxes, known as ossuaries, are believed to date back to the Second Temple Period, a time stretching from roughly 515 B.C. to 70 A.D. that included the reign of King Herod, who built some of the most famous sites in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and the time of Jesus.

According to common Jewish burial practices of the time, the deceased were not buried but laid out in a cave for one year. Afterward, the bones were gathered and stored in the special boxes.

The boxes are not especially rare. The Antiquities Authority already has in its possession more than 1,000 of these ancient boxes. But the authority’s deputy director, Eitan Klein, said each box was significant.

“We can learn from each ossuary about a different aspect of language, art and burial practice,” he said. “And we can learn about the soul of the person.”

Two were inscribed in Hebrew with names — “Yoezer” and “Ralphine.” Klein said he hoped to learn more about the identity of the deceased through future research.